The invention relates to a support element with a head portion facing a surface which is to be supported, the head portion adapting to any changes in the shape or position of the surface in order to maintain a parallel gap between the surface and the head portion, and for this reason being flexible or inclinable relative to the support element.
Support elements of this kind are advantageously used particularly in deflection-compensating rollers for treating a web of material, where the aim is to obtain a spacing between the cooperating rollers which is constant over the entire width of the web or to obtain a constant treatment pressure during deflection of the rollers by balancing out the deflection.
In deflection-compensating rollers, the support elements are arranged in a row along a fixed carrier, with a rotating roller shell also being provided.
In the case of elastic, e.g. elastomeric roller shells, in particular, deformation of the shell occurs under the operating pressure, with the result that a gap between the head portion of the support element and the surface of the shell which is to be supported is no longer parallel. Support is therefore obtained along a line or at individual points instead of along a surface.
To avoid this, support elements are known, for example from Swiss patent application No. 8351/78-7, or the corresponding U.S. application, Ser. No. 58,457, filed July 18, 1979, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,400, granted Apr. 21, 1981, which comprise a flexible, bridge-like head portion below which a space is left in the support element, and the flux of forces acting on the head portion in the direction of the surface which is to be supported is guided around this free space. Consequently, the head portion is able to adapt to changes in the shape or position of the surface of the supported, withing the scope of its flexibility.
Hitherto, it has only been possible to use the known support elements in a restricted compression range corresponding to the flexibility of the head portion. The idea of varying the flexibility of the head portion e.g. by means of additional elastic supports, has already been tried. However, even with this method, the flexibility of the head portion does not correspond exactly to the particular support pressure of the element which is applied or is to be applied.